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Abstract:

A security camera with magnetic adjustor has a camera body and a front cap
assembly. The camera body has a case, an optoelectronical module and at
least one magnetic adjustor. The optoelectronical module is coaxially
mounted in the case and has a camera lens. The at least one magnetic
adjustor is a telescopic rod, is mounted radially on the camera lens and
has a distal end and an inner magnet being mounted in the distal end. The
front cap assembly has at least one adjustment guide. The at least one
adjustment guide is rotatably mounted on the case and has an outer magnet
corresponding to the inner magnet of a corresponding magnetic adjustor. A
size of the optoelectronical module is changeable for lower production
costs since the magnetic adjustors are telescopically adaptable to
different camera cases.

Claims:

1. A security camera comprisinga camera body havinga case being tubular
and havinga main section;a mounting section being coaxially formed on the
main section and havingan outer annular surface; andan opening; anda stop
edge being formed between the main section and the mounting section;an
optoelectronical module being capable of successively capturing light to
generate a video image, being mounted securely inside the case and having
a camera lens being disposed centrally in the mounting section; andat
least one magnetic adjustor being a telescopic rod and each one of the at
least one magnetic adjustor havinga proximal end being securely and
radially mounted on the camera lens;a distal end; andan inner magnet
being mounted in the distal end of the magnetic adjustor; anda front cap
assembly being detachably mounted coaxially on the opening of the
mounting section to seal and provide protection of the optoelectronical
module inside the case and havingat least one adjustment guide, each one
of the at least one adjustment guide being a ring, being rotatably
mounted on the outer annular surface of the mounting section, being
disposed corresponding to one of the at least one magnetic adjustor and
having an outer magnet being mounted in the adjustment guide and
corresponding to and attracting a corresponding inner magnet; anda front
cap corresponding to and being mounted on the opening of the mounting
section and protecting the optoelectronical module and pushing the
adjustment guide against the stop edge.

2. The security camera as claimed in claim 1 further havingat least one
spacer being a ring, corresponding to and being detachably mounted on the
outer annular surface of the mounting section between the stop edge and
front cap, whereineach one of the at least one adjustment guide is a ring
corresponding to one of the at least one magnetic adjustor.

3. The security camera as claimed in claim 1, wherein each one of the at
least one magnetic adjustor hasa threaded head being coaxially formed on
the proximal end of the magnetic adjustor and being radially screwed onto
the camera lens; anda nut corresponding to and being moveably mounted on
the threaded head and pressing the camera lens to securely hold the
magnetic adjustor radially on the camera lens.

4. The security camera as claimed in claim 2, wherein each one of the at
least one magnetic adjustor hasa threaded head being coaxially formed on
the proximal end of the magnetic adjustor and being radially screwed onto
the camera lens; anda nut corresponding to and being moveably mounted on
the threaded head and pressing the camera lens to securely hold the
magnetic adjustor radially on the camera lens.

5. The security camera as claimed in claim 3, wherein each one of the at
least one magnetic adjustor further has a holder being an arced bracket,
corresponding to and being detachably mounted on the camera lens and
being securely mounted on the proximal end of the magnetic adjustor using
the threaded head and the nut.

6. The security camera as claimed in claim 4, wherein each one of the at
least one magnetic adjustor further has a holder being an arced bracket,
corresponding to and being detachably mounted on the camera lens and
being securely mounted on the magnetic adjustor using the threaded head
and the nut.

7. The security camera as claimed in claim 5 whereinthe camera lens has a
focus controller and an aperture controller being independently mounted
rotatably on the camera lens and being selectively rotated to achieve
focus;the security camera has two magnetic adjustors being respectively
mounted on the focus controller and the aperture controller; andthe front
cap assembly has two adjustment guides being successively mounted on the
outer annular surface of the mounting section, each adjustment guide
being disposed corresponding to one of the magnetic adjustors.

8. The security camera as claimed in claim 6 whereinthe camera lens has a
focus controller and an aperture controller being independently mounted
rotatably on the camera lens and being selectively rotated to achieve
focus;the security camera has two magnetic adjustors being respectively
mounted on the focus controller and the aperture controller; andthe front
cap assembly has two adjustment guides being successively mounted on the
outer annular surface of the mounting section, each adjustment guide
being disposed corresponding to one of the magnetic adjustors.

9. In a security camera comprising a camera lens and a magnetic adjustor,
wherein the improvements comprise the magnetic adjustor being a
telescopic rod and comprisinga proximal end corresponding to and being
selectively mounted securely on a camera lens of the security camera;a
distal end; andan inner magnet being mounted in the distal end.

10. The security cameras as claimed in claim 9, wherein the magnetic
adjustor further hasa threaded head being coaxially formed on the
proximal end and being connected radially to the camera lens; anda nut
corresponding to and being moveably mounted on the threaded head and
pressing the camera lens to securely hold the magnetic adjustor radially
on the camera lens.

11. The security camera as claimed in claim 10, wherein the magnetic
adjustor further has a holder being an arced bracket, corresponding to
and being securely and detachably mounted on the camera lens and being
securely mounted on the proximal end of the magnetic adjustor using the
threaded head and the nut.

Description:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001]1. Field of Invention

[0002]The present invention relates to security cameras, and more
particularly to security cameras with a magnetic adjustor.

[0003]2. Description of the Related Art

[0004]Security cameras are commonly implemented for crime prevention and
property protection for homes, governmental, commercial and industrial
buildings as well as outdoors in streets, outside entrances, in high risk
areas, or large areas such as ports, airports, bus or train stations and
the like. A conventional security camera always has an adjustment guide
that is integrally mounted on a lens for adjusting focus and aperture
size of the security camera. When the security camera is installed
outside, the security camera and the adjustment guide is made water
resistant, normally by sealed casings.

[0005]With reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B, an outdoor security camera in
accordance with an invention patent of USA (U.S. Pat. No. 7,066,663) has
a case (91), an optoelectronical module (92), two inner adjustors (93), a
guiding brace (94) and two outer adjustment guides (95).

[0006]The case (91) has an inner annular surface and an outer annular
surface. The optoelectronical module (92) is mounted coaxially in the
case (91) and has a focus controller and an aperture controller. The
focus controller and the aperture controller are rotatably mounted on the
optoelectronical module (92) and are moved to adjust the focus and the
aperture size of the optoelectronical module (92). The two interior
adjustors (93) are rod-like and each has a proximal end and a distal end.
The proximal ends of the interior adjustors (93) are respectively mounted
securely on the focus and the aperture controllers. The distal end of
each interior adjustor (93) radially extends to the interior annular
surface of the case (91) and has a magnet securely mounted thereon.

[0007]The guiding brace (94) is an arced sheet corresponding to and being
mounted on the outer annular surface of the case (91) and forms a gap
with the case (91) after being mounted on the case (91). The guiding
brace (94) further has two guiding slots (942) formed circumferentially
therethrough. Each one of the guiding slots (942) corresponds to a route
of one of the distal ends of the interior adjustors (93).

[0008]The adjustment guides (95) are respectively and slidably mounted in
the guiding slots (942) and each has a magnet corresponding to the magnet
of one of the interior adjustors (93), where the magnet of each
adjustment guide (95) is magnetically attracted by the magnet of
corresponding interior adjustor (93).

[0009]When a person wants to adjust the focus or the aperture of the
optoelectronical module (92), they can just move the adjustment guides
(95) along the guiding slots (942) instead of opening the case (91) to
adjust the focus controller or the aperture directly. Hence, the
described outdoor security camera is easy to use and is suitable to be
installed outside since the optoelectronical module (92) is protected by
the case (91).

[0010]However, the outdoor security camera still has some shortcomings.
For instance, choosing the optoelectronical module (92) is limited in
considering the size since the sizes of the case (91) and the interior
adjustors (93) are fixed. If the diameter of the optoelectronical module
(92) are changed (smaller or larger), the adjustment guides (95) will no
longer smoothly adjust the position of the interior adjustors (93) since
the movement of each interior adjustor (93) will be resisted by friction
with the inner annular surface of the case (91) or be less attracted with
the adjustment guides (95).

[0011]Furthermore, ranges of adjusting the focus and the aperture size of
the optoelectronical module (92) are limited since movement of the
adjustment guides (95) is to lengths of the guiding slots (942).

[0012]The present invention provides a security camera with magnetic
adjustor to obviate or mitigate the shortcomings of the conventional
outdoor security camera.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0013]The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a
security camera with magnetic adjustor to improve flexibility of choosing
sizes of an optoelectronical module to be used and also to improve
adjustment ranges of the focus and the aperture.

[0014]The security camera with magnetic adjustor has a camera body and a
front cap assembly. The camera body has a case, an optoelectronical
module and at least one magnetic adjustor. The optoelectronical module is
coaxially mounted in the case and has a camera lens. The at least one
magnetic adjustor is a telescopic rod, is mounted radially on camera lens
and has a distal end and an inner magnet being mounted in the distal end.
The front cap assembly has at least one adjustment guide. The at least
one adjustment guide is rotatably mounted on the case and has an outer
magnet corresponding to the inner magnet of one of a corresponding
magnetic adjustor. A size of the optoelectronical module is changeable
for lower production costs since the magnetic adjustors are
telescopically adaptable to different camera cases.

[0015]Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention
will become more apparent from the following detailed description when
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a security camera with a magnetic
adjustor in accordance with the present invention;

[0017]FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the security
camera with magnetic adjustor in FIG. 1;

[0018]FIGS. 3A and 3B are enlarged view in partial section of two security
cameras having different diameters in accordance with the present
invention;

[0019]FIG. 4 is an operational front view of the security camera with
magnetic adjustor in FIG. 1;

[0020]FIG. 5 is a partially exploded perspective view of a second
embodiment of the security camera in accordance with the present
invention;

[0021]FIG. 6A is a partially exploded perspective view of an outdoor
security camera in accordance with the prior art; and

[0022]FIG. 6B is an operational front view of the outdoor security camera
in FIG. 6A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023]With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a security camera with magnetic
adjustor in accordance with the present invention comprises a camera body
(10), an optional weather resistant cover (30), a front cap assembly (40)
and at least one optional spacer (50).

[0024]The camera body (10) has a case (12), an optoelectronical module
(16) and at least one magnetic adjustor (18).

[0025]The case (12) is tubular, may be cylindrical, polyhedral or the like
and has an inner surface, a main section (122), a mounting section (124)
and a stop edge (126).

[0026]The mounting section (124) is coaxially formed on the main section
(122), may be thinner than the main section (122) and has an outer
annular surface and an opening.

[0027]The stop edge (126) is formed between the main section (122) and the
mounting section (124) and may be a protrusion rib between the main
section (122) and the mounting section (124) or may be formed by the
mounting section (124) being thinner than the main section (122). The
optoelectronical module (16) is capable of successively capturing light
to generate a video image, is mounted securely inside the case (12) and
has a camera lens (162) being disposed centrally in the mounting section
(124). The camera lens (162) has a focus controller and an aperture
controller that are independently mounted rotatably on the camera lens
(162) and being selectively rotated to achieve focus. When the focus
controller and the aperture controller are rotated along the camera lens
(162), a focus and an aperture size are adjusted.

[0028]With further reference to FIG. 3A, the at least one magnetic
adjustor (18) is a telescopic rod and has a proximal end, a distal end,
an inner magnet (182), an optional threaded head (183), an optional nut
(184) and an optional holder (185). In the preferred embodiment of the
present invention, two magnetic adjustors (18) are detachably and
respectively mounted radially on the focus controller and the aperture
controller of the optoelectronical module (16).

[0029]The inner magnet (182) is mounted in the distal end of each magnetic
adjustor (18).

[0030]The threaded head (183) is coaxially formed on the proximal end of
the magnetic adjustor (18) and is radially screwed onto the camera lens
(162), maybe onto the focus controller or the aperture controller using
the threaded head (183) and may be adapted to be connected radially to
the camera lens (162).

[0031]The nut (184) corresponds to and is moveably mounted on the threaded
head (183) and pressing the camera lens (162) to securely hold the
magnetic adjustor radially on the camera lens (162). When the threaded
head (183) is screwed onto the focus controller or the aperture
controller, the nut (184) is moved toward the focus or the aperture
controller until the nut (184) presses against the focus or the aperture
controller to more securely hold the magnetic adjustor (18) radially on
the focus or the aperture controller.

[0032]The holder (185) may be an arced bracket or an annular bracket and
is securely mounted on the proximal end of the corresponding magnetic
adjustor (18), may be using the threaded head (183) and nut (184). The
holder (185) corresponds to and is detachably mounted on the camera lens
(162), maybe on the focus controller or the aperture controller.

[0033]In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the proximal
end of the one of the magnetic adjustors (18) has the threaded head (183)
and the nut (184) screwed onto the focus controller directly. The
proximal end of the other one of the magnetic adjustors (18) further has
one holder (185) being an arced bracket being mounted the-eon,
corresponding to and being securely held on the aperture of the camera
lens (162).

[0034]The weather resistant cover (30) is an arced sheet and has an inner
surface corresponding to and being mounted on the case (12) to increase
contrast ratio and prevent precipitation or solar damage to the camera
body (10).

[0035]With further reference to FIG. 5, the front cap assembly (40) is
detachably mounted coaxially on the opening of the mounting section (124)
to seal and provide protection to the optoelectronical module (16) inside
the case (12) and has at least one adjustment guide (41, 41A) and a front
cap (42).

[0036]Each one of the at least one adjustment guide (41, 41A) is mounted
on the outer annular surface of the mounting section (124), is disposed
corresponding to the at least one magnetic adjustor (18) and each has an
outer magnet (412, 412A) being mounted therein. The outer magnet (412,
412A) corresponds to and attracts a corresponding inner magnet (182) to
rotate and adjust the focus or aperture of the camera lens (162).

[0037]With further reference to FIG. 4, the at least one adjustment guide
(41) is a ring, corresponds to one magnetic adjustor (18). Two adjustment
guides (41) may be successively mounted on the outer annular surface of
the mounting section (124) and disposed corresponding to one magnetic
adjustor. The aperture and the focus of the optoelectronical module (16)
may be easily adjusted in a very wide range by rotating the adjustment
guides (41) around the mounting section (124).

[0038]The adjustment guide (41A) may be a bracket mounted on the outer
annular surface of the mounting section (124) and the adjustment guide
(41A) comprises an inner surface, an outer surface, two guiding slots
(411A), a guiding recess and two outer magnets (412A). The guiding recess
is formed in the inner surface of the adjustment guide (41A) and defines
a gap between the adjustment guide (41A) and the outer annular surface of
the mounting section (124). The guiding slots (411A) are longitudinally
formed parallelly in the outer surface of the adjustment guide (41A)
corresponding to paths of the inner magnets (182) of the magnetic
adjustors (18). The outer magnets (412A) are slidably mounted
respectively in the two guiding slots (411A) and each has an outer end
extending through a corresponding guiding slot (411A) and an adjusting
nut mounted on the outer end of the outer magnet (412A).

[0039]The front cap (42) is partially transparent, corresponds to and is
mounted on the opening of the mounting section (124). The front cap (42)
may be coaxially screwed onto mounting section (124) to protect the
optoelectronical module (16) and pushes the adjustment guide (41) against
the stop edge (126).

[0040]The at least one spacer (50) is a ring, corresponds to and is
detachably mounted on the outer annular surface of the mounting section
(124) between the stop edge (126) and the front cap (42), thereby
allowing a variety of optoelectronical modules (16) of different lengths
to be mounted into the case (12) by adjusting width of the spacer (50).

[0041]Furthermore, in the preferred embodiment, optoelectronical modules
(16) having different camera lenses (162) with different diameters are
also capable of being mounted in a same size case (12) without
interference with the case (12) nor suffering from poor attraction with
the adjustment guides (41). With further reference to FIG. 3B, especially
compared to FIG. 3A, two optoelectronical modules (16, 16A) having camera
lenses (162, 162A) of different diameters are mounted in a same size case
(12). Manufactures need only adjust the magnetic adjustors (18) to
suitable lengths during assembly to ensure good attraction, which is done
simply and securely.

[0042]As described above, the embodiments of present invention allow a
variety of optoelectronical modules (16) of different sizes (including
total length and diameter) to be selectively mounted into the same case
(12). Costs of manufacturing are also significantly reduced due to
economy of scale in producing a same size case (12) that is capable of
mounting optoelectronical modules (16) with different sizes.

[0043]Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present
invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with
details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is
illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail, especially in matters
of shape, size and arrangement of parts within the principles of the
invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of
the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.